Christmas is coming…as much as we hate to admit it. The fake joy and forced laughers are just around the corner.
Do not worry!
We have our own way of coping with all of this. Continue reading
Having the Devil of a Wicked Christmas in Whitby!
The last few Christmases have seen the Krampus making his presence felt far beyond his snowy Alpine homelands. For the benefit of the uninitiated, the Krampus is a hairy, horned devil who carries a sack and a switch. He accompanies Saint Nicholas on his Yuletide rounds in early December, and while Nicholas gives gifts to good children, Krampus whips the naughty ones, and pops the really bad little boys and girls in his sack to take away. Continue reading
Midwinter Migration (40 Years of Alchemy)
Betwixt stone and sky on a tailwind to Valhalla, the heirs of Jormungand launch from their lofty eries to follow the inexorable glacial shift that forges mountains in its wake and leads them over the edge of the world to the twilight realm of the gods. Continue reading
Horror in the Valleys
Every November, our resident horror fanatic Gavin Baddeley makes an annual pilgrimage to Aberystwyth on the Welsh coast to attend the Abertoir Festival. While not the biggest or longest established of the UK’s horror festivals, Gavin assures us that it’s among the best. It features theatre performances, themed club nights, site visits, talks, live music and more. But the backbone of the six day event remains the film screenings, with 26 horror movies shown in 2017, including vintage classics and exclusive premiers of the best forthcoming features. We asked Gavin to pick out a few of the most bizarre, scary and entertaining upcoming horror films he’d seen there, for horror fans to look out for on cinema screens, in the DVD racks, and on streaming services in the coming months… Continue reading
The Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse (40 Years of Alchemy)
Revelation, chapter 6, verse 8, speaks of the last horse, The Pale Horse, and its fearful rider, Death. At the time of the Apocalypse, the revelation of Judgement Day, this hand of God shall bring forth its mighty vengeance upon those who are weighed as the greatest sinners. Continue reading
Winter Goth
As the icy touch of Jack Frost begins to make the mornings glisten and the nights draw in fighting with the daylight for time, this is the moment where goth truly comes into its own. Winter not only echoes the gothic ethos in its darker days and longer nights, bleak and seemingly devoid of life – but also in the fact that its desolate beauty is merely a cloak, a time of hibernation for regeneration to occur, the darkness before the light, a time of magic, a time which is sometimes misunderstood and ignored by many. Continue reading
On Stygian Shores (40 Years of Alchemy)
Ancient legend tells of a forsaken mire beyond the wastes of Colchis. There on a poisoned beech tree, hangs the fleece of the golden ram of heaven, a treasure beyond worth. Continue reading
Alchemy’s Halloween Ghost Invest
Alchemy have been settled into their new premises for less than a year, but already various members of staff have whispered of their unnerving experiences and their awareness of inexplicable company, of the sound of footsteps from an empty floor above, in short, of early brushes with possible entities from the past. Continue reading
Halloween Masquerade
‘The definition of the word “Masquerade” is: a party, a dance or other festive gathering of persons wearing masks and other disguises; a costume or disguise worn at such a gathering; façade, pretense; existence under false pretenses. False pretenses? Tell me, what is more falsely than the human nature? They hide behind their fleshy masks every day. They cover their frustrations with a polite smile. They lie so often that they believe in their own stories. A masquerade, false? What nonsense!’ Continue reading
Feature ~ Alchemy England: history & a review
MY EXPERIENCE
I discovered the brand when I was a kid, about 13 or 14. I don’t remember what was the first product I bought but it might have been the Catafalque, a gorgeous necklace with a skull that I had to sell a few years ago because I needed money :(. Continue reading
Cusp of Bathory (40 Years of Alchemy)
In any month on the last night of the moon’s waning crescent, the feared and loathed spectre of Elizabeth Bathory may be seen atop the heights of Castle Csejthe. Continue reading
Changing the Stars
A friend recently shared with me a surprisingly beautiful Romanian tradition that takes place in the Maramures region. This tradition gave me inspiration to do a little more research on the subject and to write this article. The tradition or the ritual as some might say was performed in order to save a severely sick child from death. Continue reading
Dark Catharsis (40 Years of Alchemy)
The Norse spider monster of Wyred complies with the bidding of Skuld, the third of the Norns, the three sisters tending the roots of the world tree, Yggdrasil and who are the weavers of all destiny. Skuld, meaning ‘that which should become’, plunges the souls of lascivious women into an eternal, purgatory torpor of masochistic remorse.
The New Alchemy England 2017/18 Catalogue is Out
We proudly present to you the magnificent 2017/2018 Alchemy England catalogue!
The Alchemy original cover art work and story:
‘Rose Arcana’ – A Desiccated petal, fallen from the garland of history! You can read further into this beguiling tale on page 3 of your catalogue. Continue reading
Killer Instinct
Warning: Some of the information below is based on facts others are merely fiction…for the time being.
1835. England, the Parliament outlawed bull-baiting and bear-baiting sports in which dogs fought to death against other animals. Gamblers turned their interest to dog fighting, a popular and profitable sport. British dog-fighters created crosses between the English Bulldog and various types of Terriers. This led to the best fighting dogs: Bull Terriers. They had the size, strength, aggression and ferocity to fight to the death. Continue reading